As farmers gear up for the 2025 production season, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to refine its rules for herbicide use with regard to the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
“Farmers have already seen some examples of changes to the labels around Endangered Species Act obligations, and it’s going to change how they farm,” predicts Corey Lacey, environmental policy manager for the Illinois Soybean Association.
While herbicides are currently being evaluated – via EPA’s “Herbicide Strategy,” – a similar application framework for fungicides, insecticides and rodenticides won’t be far behind, Lacey noted earlier this week, during a discussion on AgricultureReporting.com on what farmers need to know in 2025 about herbicides and endangered species.
What Is A Herbicide Strategy?
The herbicide strategy is part of the EPA’s workplan to protect endangered species. It was created in response to multiple lawsuits filed against the EPA for the agency’s failure to comply with the ESA by not conducting mandatory consultations under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
The EPA will use a three-step decision framework to implement the strategy. Part of the process will involve determining a herbicide’s potential to have population-level impacts on endangered species as either not likely, low, medium or high.
The agency will also determine the level of mitigation needed to sufficiently reduce spray drift, runoff and erosion exposure to listed endangered species in an area.
Lacey says while he and his team conducted a series of five meetings with Illinois farmers on the herbicide strategy topic in late January, he is concerned the majority of farmers are not fully up-to-speed on the impact it will have on their respective operations.
Mitigation Points Will Be Used
As it implements the herbicide strategy, EPA will assign each herbicide a mitigation point requirement, a number between zero to nine.
“The idea is…on every field that you operate on, you’re going to have to look at that field and then decide, ‘How do I get to these points?’” Lacey says. “We’re expecting most herbicide products to require six points (for Illinois, specifically). Nine is the most mitigation points that you would need (for use of a specific herbicide), and that would be for a product especially concerning to the EPA,” Lacey said.
The EPA outlines a six-step process to determine which runoff and erosion mitigation measures to consider and implement before utilizing a pesticide product each year. These steps can be found on the Mitigation Menu.
The number of points assigned to products will depend on factors such as the crop, application parameters, and site-specific geographic conditions, according to Aaron Hager,
University of Illinois Extension weed scientist.
Hager has written an extensive article EPA’s Final Herbicide Strategy for ESA: What Could Change, offering farmers and applicators more details on EPA’s herbicide strategy, including the mitigation points.
New and updated herbicide labels and/or bulletins will also direct applicators to EPA’s Bulletins Live! Two website. This website will detail more restrictive mitigation requirements for specific geographic areas known to contain critical habitat, called Pesticide Use Limitation Areas (PULAs).
In addition, there are considerations for spray drift, and as such EPA requires a buffer distance based on application method (for example, aerial, ground, etc.).
First Product With A Herbicide Strategy
Lacey says Liberty Ultra is the first product to have a herbicide strategy component to its label.
The herbicide contains the active ingredient glufosinate-P and is available for use this season on glufosinate-enabled soybean, cotton, corn and canola acres.
Liberty Ultra isn’t a completely new herbicide, but rather a new iteration of Liberty herbicide developed by BASF Agricultural Solutions, explains Jordan Kampa, University of Wisconsin nutrient and pest management outreach specialist.
Because glufosinate-P is considered a new active ingredient, Liberty Ultra had to undergo the EPA registration process under the new ESA framework, which includes language to comply with the herbicide strategy, Kampa writes in his article, EPA Herbicide Strategy Implementation on Crops and Soils
“Please note,” Kampa adds, “Liberty Ultra is not the cause for the recent EPA changes, it’s the first product approved under the new ESA framework. While the language on the label will vary among products, the updated language on the Liberty Ultra herbicide label provides a sample of what should be expected on all labels moving forward.”
2,4-D, Glyphosate And Dicamba Are On The List
Indeed, Lacey says other herbicide active ingredients are not far behind on EPA’s list to address with its herbicide strategy.
“EPA has indicated that as part of their court settlement, they’re going to push things through rapidly,” Lacey says. “I know 2,4-D is on the list, as is glyphosate and dicamba. All these things we use on a regular basis in Illinois (and other states) are eventually going to come under the herbicide strategy label.”
With FIFRA re-registration timeframes, all active ingredients will go through the ESA assessment process in the next 15 years.
What to Expect This Year and In the Future
One positive is that the herbicide strategy will be implemented over time, instead of on a specific date.
“It’s not coming at (farmers) all at once, so as long as they’re learning about it now and starting to think about how to prepare themselves, there’s still plenty of time to get ready,” Lacey says
Lacey encourages farmers to not panic about the new herbicide strategy. He’s confident growers will be able to comply with EPA’s requirements.
“We can do this,” he says. “I want farmers to start looking at their fields now and be thinking about how (to get the mitigation points needed) and make a plan. We can find ways to comply but we have to plan for it.
“You need to find any problem fields now, so you can put things in place ahead of time,” Lacey adds. “You know, 2025 is probably not going to be a big issue for a lot of guys. But in 2026, 27, we’re going to see this become more complicated, so why not get started now.”
Your next read: 7 Key Details To Know: New Endangered Species Act Herbicide Standards
